Prelude to Destiny
by Setep Ka Tawy
Summary: //DISCONTINUED// Galen Marek's second Jedi target is not Kazdan Paratus, but another of the Order who lies hidden on Dantooine with a squad of loyal clone commandos. AU, Galen Marek/Starkiller and OC's. Please read and review!
1. Part I: Another Assassination

Disclaimer: Star Wars content belongs to George Lucas, aside from my own creations (Jedi and five clones) who will be present in future parts.

Also, as a clarification (thanks to Lord Slayer!) in response to "nitpicking": Juno is not the pilot in this because personally I don't like her all that much - thus, the story is marked AU, as well as for other reasons. Second, another personal preference - I use Galen's name because that is who he is, regardless of whether he knows it or not; but he and others will only refer to him as "Starkiller" in the story.

* * *

Part I - Another Assassination

"Proxy, I told you already, you can't come with me. I don't know why you keep following me."

Galen Marek sighed with frustration, executing a simple maneuver he privately termed a "face-palm", which involved clapping a hand to the upper region of his face, as if in despair. Already he was cutting quite fine in delivering his report on time, and his master did not take kindly to late arrivals. And of course, it was at precisely this moment his droid took it upon itself to engage whatever "annoyance" subroutines were built into its programming. Dropping his hand again, Galen avoided eye contact with Proxy by letting his gaze roam the gloomy hallway, sparsely lighted, that preceded the double doors which closed off Darth Vader's private area from the remainder of this ship, the _Executor_. Finally, having taken in all of the blackly polished surrounding surfaces he could allow himself time for, the young Sith apprentice turned back to Proxy. He opened his mouth to speak, but the droid apparently anticipated him.

"I do apologize, master," Proxy told him, "but my internal programming tells me -"

Galen barely had time to leap out of the way as Proxy's holo-emitters engaged and a verdant lightsaber flashed by. A green-skinned Nautolan stood where the droid had been, his large liquid eyes filled with ebon anger. "This would be an excellent time to kill you!" Proxy finished triumphantly, his voice processor taking on the smooth tones of the deceased Jedi he was impersonating; and then he struck again.

Rolling his eyes, Galen ducked once more and lashed out with one hand. He seized the droid's attacking arm, and with a surge of both bodily strength and the Force, pushed Proxy a good ways back down the hallway. Smiling slightly, he turned his back on the droid, calling over his shoulder, "You'll have to try harder than that, Proxy."

"Of course, master. I'll be waiting with another clever assault!"

***

A slight rush of air rippled Galen's loose, rather tattered clothing as the doors of Vader's "sanctuary" closed with an ominous echo behind him. His stance was tense as he waited for the shrouded figure of his master to turn in acknowledgement of the apprentice's presence. Instead, Galen quickly knelt on the cold floor as Vader's metallic, sonorous voice resounded. There was something in the other's tone that the young Sith did not feel was a good omen….

"Your last mission could be called a success…." Vader began slowly.

The apprentice allowed himself to relax slightly upon hearing this. Perhaps it was simply his own fear that had caused him to misinterpret the inflections in his master's voice.

"…were it not for the numerous imperial Senate guards who witnessed you fleeing on your ship!"

Galen saw Vader turn and raise a hand. Immediately the apprentice felt himself lifted into the air by the throat, his breathing cut off by the Dark Lord's Force-choke. He struggled desperately, his hands clawing at his neck, but there was nothing tangible there to grasp to stop the attack, and resisting through the Force would only lead to crueler punishment; his vision was dotted with mocking lights, his head throbbing with pain -

Just as the young Sith was about to pass out, Vader released his hold, and Galen dropping with an agonizing jolt to his knees. Eyes watering profusely, he gently massaged his neck, not daring to look up as his master continued on indifferently, but with a clearly implied threat in his tone.

"You will not fail me in this way again - your next assignment will be difficult, and I fully expect you will perish. Your Jedi target is known not only for his lightsaber prowess, but his ruthlessness as well. He has gathered a band of loyal clone commandos, who will be just another factor in your demise. If you manage to destroy both the clones and the Jedi, Best'al Orda, you will bring me the clone leader's helmet as well as Orda's lightsaber. The coordinates will be transmitted to your pilot. Do not return unless you succeed."

"Yes, my master," Galen murmured. He remained kneeling for a moment longer, then rose and silently departed. A short while later, his personal ship, the Ro_gue Shadow_, was en route through hyperspace to the target's location.

***

Vader's apprentice was meditating in the silence of his quarters aboard the ship when the intercom beeped. Opening his eyes slowly, he sat up from the floor where he had been lying and sighed, trying to get himself into the eager "bring justice to Vader's enemies" mood he could usually pass into with ease at the start of an assignment; but this time, it came only with difficulty. Reluctantly, he got to his feet and responded to the hail from his pilot.

"What is it?" he growled.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir, but we're arriving at Dantooine. You said to alert you on approach to the planet."

Galen didn't bother to reply; the pilot would take this as an acknowledgement. A moment later, he strode into the cockpit, coming up behind the pilot and glancing out the viewport.

"All right, set me down on that plateau." He pointed to a raised section of the grassy landscape spread out below them. "I'll walk from there."

"Of course, sir," the pilot affirmed. "I'll set the ship down on the other side after you leave, then. Good luck!"

Galen scowled at the other's obviously cheerful manner and stalked from the cockpit to the now lowered boarding ramp. Leaping down, he landed easily after a short descent with the soft crunch of grass beneath his boots. He took in the landscape at a glance, then began trotting along the plateau edge, his eyes trained on the barely discernable ruins nestled some distance away in the hills.

* * *

As a warning - the various parts may be spaced out quite a bit in terms of when I post them; I have a very busy life right now. Also, if this seemed a bit short - the other parts are a good bit longer. Enjoy! Comments appreciated! May the Force be with you!


	2. Part II: Battle with the Squadron

I"m not sure I'm happy with this story anymore, but a couple people seem to like it, so I won't give up on it.... not yet, anyway.

* * *

Part II - Battle with the Squadron

A clone commando, his full helmet sectioned with red, muttered angrily to himself as he strode rapidly along a stone path just outside the old Jedi Enclave. Every so often, he re-checked the readings recorded on the datapad held in his hand, as if to validate the information it imparted. Irritably satisfied that there was indeed no mistake, he walked up behind the tall, imposing figure of a male Zabrak. Despite the other's back being turned, the commando saluted crisply, and announced, "Sir, we've tracked a ship on the way here, direct course to the Enclave, no visible or recognizable markings. Bolt says it dropped someone off on the eastern plateau."

It was a moment before he received a reply. "Where is he now?" the Zabrak growled, his voice low, like grating stone.

"Bolt? He's following whomever it was that got dropped off. Apparently he's on a beeline for our hidey-hole."

"The Empire." The words were spat out like a landslide of myriad pebbles. Best'al Orda turned, looking with dark features at the clone leader. "Blazon, ready as many traps as you can before our guest arrives. Have Bolt go up to the tower when he returns. I will wait here for the rest of your squad."

Blazon saluted smartly again - "Yes, sir!" - and hurried away. Watching him go, Best'al thoughtfully traced the bold tattoos on his face, and a slightly crazed smile stretched his features so that they looked vaguely grotesque.

It wasn't often he got the chance to attack the Empire, however indirectly. This was going to be fun.

***

Blazon was crouched behind a low wall facing the open grasslands beyond the Enclave with his three remaining squad members, the sniper, Bolt, having already moved into position in the tower above. The commlink system interfaced into his helmet sparked to life with a call that all four could hear:

"I see the assassin - he's coming this way fast." A pause. "He's got a lightsaber - definitely a Sith. Younger than I thought."

"Acknowledged, Bolt. Keep an eye on him."

The demolitions clone, Flare, snorted contemptuously. "Vader sent a kid to fight a squad of elite commandos and a Jedi? You've gotta be joking."

Blazon cautiously glanced over the wall. "Watch out, he's at the first trap."

The other three eagerly copied their leader's movements, waiting to see how the assassin would fare.

"Should I get some bacta packs out to patch up what's left of him after?" asked Quentin, the medic, a note of wicked glee in his voice.

"Don't bother," replied Mac, the squad's tech specialist, viciously. "The kath hounds will take care of his corpse."

***

Galen slowed his Force-enhanced pace considerably as he drew near to the ruins. Only a few steps from where he stood, lightsaber in hand, the terrain changed abruptly from thick grass to worn stone, marking entrance to the Enclave. Tense now, checking all around for signs of movement, the young assassin moved forward, stopping every few paces to reach out with his senses. He had progressed less than a meter along the path, however, before the slightly protesting whine of servo-motors hummed behind him. He whirled around as his saber pat its blade of scarlet energy from its hilt. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Trundling along the path towards him from the other direction was some sort of cleaning droid. It seemed to be in distress, its movement slightly weaving, stopping and and starting erratically. As Galen watched more closely, a soft ticking reached his ears. There ensued a moment in which he finally comprehended the reality of the seemingly innocent droid, a moment in which time slowed to more easily emphasize the danger of the situation. Then the trance was broken, and the apprentice hurled himself to the side, taking cover behind a long-dry fountain which stood a forgotten alcove.

Unfortunately, he found another morosely ticking droid already there waiting for him.

Teeth clenched in frustration, Galen leapt away once more, calling on the Force to push him further. From his vantage point high in the air, he briefly saw three other droids closing in. Then all five exploded. The shock wave from the detonation slammed into his airborne body, propelling him forward but also at an angle heading toward the ground. Regaining control quickly, he landed a good length further along the path as the shock wave dissipated.

"That was exciting," he muttered to himself, checking to ensure his lightsaber had not been damaged. Then he turned his attention to the problem at hand - the imposing Force-field that had been erected across the path in front of him, one of the few things that impeded a lightsaber. Glancing through its semi-transparent, staticked surface, he saw the helmeted heads of four clone commandos peering at him from behind a low wall. Obviously they thought themselves safe. Yet equally obvious, to a grimly smiling Galen was that their puny lives had never been in more jeopardy.

The apprentice took careful note of the area beyond the supposedly hindering force-field. The stone path widened into a sort of courtyard, walled on one side, a prelude to the half-ruined entrance to the Enclave that stood behind. Turning his gaze upward, he saw what had once been a communications spire of some kind, and at a point halfway up - the telltale glint of a weapon. A brutal but effective plan seemed to form itself in his mind, and accordingly, he stretched out through the Force even as his arms were raised…..

***

The first Bolt knew of the impending danger was the ominous rumbling that accompanied a sudden trembling of the tower around him. He threw out an arm to support himself against the vibrating wall, his eyes darting about the narrow, circular room before fixing on the figure standing far below, behind the force-field. The assassin's arms seemed to be upraised towards the spire - and then things clicked into place in the suddenly chilled clone's mind. This assassin was a Sith, and could manipulate the Force, much as the Jedi whom Bolt had once served could. And one of the most basic powers a Jedi used was that of moving objects beyond normal reach.

Apparently, even things as large as communications spires weren't out of that category.

Bolt dashed for the opposite window as the tower began leaning. He clambered out, bracing himself in the window's frame as the spire acquired a milder angle. Having allowed himself as much time as he dared, the sniper used his combat training skills to maintain balance, and began half climbing, half sliding down the outside of the tower, all the while calling shrill warnings to his comrades below.

***

Blazon couldn't believe his eyes as he saw the tower begin to lean at an alarming rate of speed, aiming directly at the remaining squad members, still hidden behind the wall. And a figure, making his treacherous way down its side, yelling mightily - that had to be Bolt.

"Move!" the squad leader shouted, pulling Flare behind him. "Mac! Quentin! Now!"

The tech commando obeyed instantly, but the medic paused, confused. Then he looked up, and screamed with horror at the sight of the now free-falling tower.

Quentin's last words were muffled by the terrific impact of the spire's sudden deceleration as it hit the ground in a cloud of dust. The remaining commandos, looking back only once, disappeared through the Enclave's entrance, and a sudden detonation indicated that Flare had collapsed the entrance behind them.

* * *

Please review if you have any comments! Thanks! May the Force be with you.


End file.
